As is well known in the art, a suspension-type head lining arrangement for the roof structure of an automotive vehicle comprises a head lining having a laterally intermediate portion retained to and stretched between the side frames of the vehicle body by means of a plurality of listing wires which are hitched at their opposite ends to the side frames. An anchor wire is wrapped in each of the side edge portions of the head lining and is retained to each side frame by means of a plurality of wire retaining clip elements fitted to the side frames. The individual wire retaining clip elements are enclosed within a side molding extending along each of the side frames. The side molding is in turn fitted to the side frame by means of molding retaining clip elements which are arranged adjacent the wire retaining clip elements along the side molding.
One of the drawbacks encountered in a prior-art suspension-type head lining arrangement of the above described nature is that a disproportionately large number of steps are necessitated for assembling the head lining to the side frames of the vehicle body by the use of the clip elements for retaining the another wires in the lining to the side frames and the clip elements for retaining the side moldings to the frames. This is because of the fact that the two kinds of clip elements are constructed and arranged separately so that a doubled number of steps are required for fitting the wire retaining clip elements to the anchor wires and the molding retaining clip elements to the side frames of the vehicle body. The present invention contemplates elimination of this drawback inherent in conventional suspension-type head lining arrangements for the roof structures of automotive vehicle.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a novel clip element for use in a suspension-type head lining arrangement for the roof structure of an automotive vehicle. The clip element provided by the present invention is characterized, inter alia, in that the clip element is capable of achieving the respective functions of both of the wire retaining clip element and the molding retaining clip element which have been in use in a conventional suspension-type head lining arrangement.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a suspension-type head lining arrangement using such novel clip elements.